Romana Brooks
Agents of the Paradigm City cabal often have opportune moments to interact with Special Agent Romana Brooks. Agents should all be aware that Agent Brooks is Darklight and operates as a free agent. Background Romana Brooks was born the only child to auto mechanic James Brooks and computer analyst Sarah Brooks on July 5th, 1984. She does not have any siblings and is not married, though deeply involved with her long-time romance Jack Knight. Young Romana seemed to take to the streets of her native Detroit, Michigan almost from the time she learned to walk. Her fiery outlook on life, quiet desperation to explore, and violent temper all contributed to make her difficult to like and impossible to control. By the age of 13 she had had many run-ins with the police and had a long rap sheet of petty theft, vandalism, and assault. She ran with the local street club, 63rd Street Hellions, and soon met Gregory Piness, also of the same gang. By fifteen Romana and Piness were an items, the latter getting her pregnant which she aborted. Piness was also responsible for stringing her out on heroin and narcotic prescription medication. When she got pregnant by Piness again at age 16, her haggard parents had enough and threw her out, refusing any further contact. Romana moved in with Piness whom took care of her in an indifferent, round about manner. In Romana's third trimester, the doctor at the free clinic discovered that the fetus was strangling itself with the umbilical cord. The only recourse was an emergency C-Section that at best would render Romana unable to have any more children. She was given a choice between another abortion or death. Romana wanted to have the baby but Piness refused to have anything to do with the child's upbringing. Piness told Romana that if she had the baby he would sell it, giving her no option but to have the abortion performed. During the procedure something went wrong, ushering in Romana's brush with the supernatural: she died on the operating table, and was medically dead for nearly two minutes as the surgical staff tried desperately to save her life. During her minutes beyond the grave Romana experienced a terrifying vision of the afterlife. She reports a hellish landscape of vivid red sand, broken stone towers and pillars, and the audible but unseen screams and moans of other people. Above all this a gigantic wheel made of chalcedony and black marble being turned by a giant hand. The ground broke open in front of her, revealing a yawning pit filled with worms of all description. As she, screaming, started to pitch forward into this pit the medical team revived her. She describes the sensation as returning to her body at high speed. When she opened her eyes she discovered a sixth individual with the five man medical team. She called this being The Creep, a desiccated and rotting form draped in a dirt encrusted shroud. The Creep informed her that it was the demon called Izcacairon (Izke-KAY-rund) whom governs the sin of self-destruction and that she had escaped him only by the decrees of fate. It then vanished, promising to return for her "shortly". The entire episode had an extremely profound emotional and psychological impact on the frightened teenage girl. She immediately renounced her drug habit and shook off her heroin use and the accompanying withdrawal with Herculean will and fortitude. She cut all further ties with Piness and set about to save herself from The Creep by applying for the local police academy. We discovered her here after she joined an Academy support group--of which one of the participants was the SSA Maggie Urquidez, on the lookout for new talent. Templar Urquidez recruited her, and Romana has been monitoring the Walshs' ever since. Disposition Generally, Special Agent Brooks is quiet, determined, keenly observant, and yet still quick-tempered. She can go from placid to furious when provoked at the drop of a hat. Whilst on duty with the local Darkness Falls Police Department she is fastidious and professional, very unlikely to lose control of her temper until her sadly limited patience has run its course. Her Near-Death Experience has left her with an over-riding vermiphobia. Talents & Scope Romana Brooks is a trained Homicide detective working for the Darkness Falls Police Department. In addition to her vigilant observation skills, her ten years with the police has trained her fully in evaluating the scenes of a crime, evaluate evidence, conduct interviews with witnesses, identify and question suspects, obtain warrants, and has the authority to declare a case closed. She has strong reasoning, personal communication, and investigative skills. To face The Dread, Romana Brooks is a Special Agent with the Paradigm City cabal and makes frequent trips to and writes reports and dossiers to the Darklight Society HQ. She spends many hours of her scheduled days off with the PD in HQ itself. Most fortunate for us is that Special Agent Brooks is a thoroughly trained and skilled magician for the Fati'i Tradition. The Fati'i Tradition is a specialized Sympathetic Magick school focused of fate, destiny, and fortune. With her specialized branch of Magick she can determine and twist the threads of entropy to her will and desire. This has enabled her to accurately predict what actions or choices others will make before they make them with which she can then adequately prepare and defend herself or others, be alerted to danger, inflict debilitating pain, or cheat at games of chance. This latter was discovered during an intense poker game with several fellow agents and Luminary DarkRaven; the latter lost twenty thousand dollars too easily to Romana for it to be coincidental. Utilizing entropic forces through Magick is not Agent Brook's only Magickal feat. She can shield herself completely from both psychic and magickal intrusion, read thoughts and scan emotions, and even use psychometry. She regularly equips herself with her badge of authority, a pair of handcuffs, and a police department issued 9mm pistol, her preferred weapon. She has some self-defense training, focusing mainly on takedowns and holds. Conclusion Special Agent Romana Brooks has proven her value and worth as an asset to The Darklight Society time and time again. She is regularly provided with the real names and photographs of her fellow agents. Paradigm City cabal agents are expected, likewise, to recognize Special Agent Brooks and show her proper respect and decorum. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action. Maggie Urquidez Templar Paradigm City cabal